Aa
What's the Risk
Hi Dr.
10 days ago, i had unprotected oral sex and protected vaginal sex with a CSW in Cameroon. Given the high HIV and STD's prevalence rates in Africa im pretty worried that i may have contracted HIV or some other form of STD.
2days after the encounter i noticed a itchy, kind of tingling sensation in my genitals.I didnt think much of it till i came down with a fever 3 days later, I also experienced lower back pain intermittent bouts of diarrhea and myalgia for one or two days. last night (9 days post encounter) I was sweating profusely and I had to wake up and change sheets!..Im really worried that I may have contracted HIV( ARS symptoms suggest) or HSV 2! To my questions:
1. What is the risk of having contracted HIV ( my penis may have been chafed from previous day's masturbation)
2. how long should i wait to do comrehensive HIV and STD tests?
10 days ago, i had unprotected oral sex and protected vaginal sex with a CSW in Cameroon. Given the high HIV and STD's prevalence rates in Africa im pretty worried that i may have contracted HIV or some other form of STD.
2days after the encounter i noticed a itchy, kind of tingling sensation in my genitals.I didnt think much of it till i came down with a fever 3 days later, I also experienced lower back pain intermittent bouts of diarrhea and myalgia for one or two days. last night (9 days post encounter) I was sweating profusely and I had to wake up and change sheets!..Im really worried that I may have contracted HIV( ARS symptoms suggest) or HSV 2! To my questions:
1. What is the risk of having contracted HIV ( my penis may have been chafed from previous day's masturbation)
2. how long should i wait to do comrehensive HIV and STD tests?
We'll let MedHelp take care of like they have done in the past. Have a good day.
Let's all chill on the semantics, HIV backgrounds, etc etc.
On MedHelp, we follow the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), test manufacturers, FDA, and our experts, Drs. HHH and Hook, and the experts in the HIV International Forum.
It is this forum's position that oral sex by itself does not require testing.
Lizzie, Teak, Vance, etc., all have some great quotes taken from our experts about the risks of oral sex and HIV, which I have included. While one study may say one thing, and another says something else, there is no disagreement among our experts about HIV and oral sex. Our forum experts are world-renowned, and have the ability to interpret situations and apply the science behind studies, etc., and they all agree on the risks (or non-risks) of oral sex for HIV.
If someone chooses to abstain from oral sex, or use a condom for oral sex (which is a good idea as other STDs can be transmitted via oral sex - see the STD community about that), or test after an oral sex encounter, that's a personal decision. However, our stance remains the same. There is no need for endless debate and insults about intelligence, education, backgrounds, etc.
Here are the quotes:
There is no debate (among experts) about the HIV risks associated with oral sex. The risk is so low that almost nobody who cares for HIV infected patients has ever had a patient believed to have been infected that way. Among experts, it's a semantic issue about using terms like "no risk" and "very low risk". There is no difference between my or Dr. Hook's use of "low risk" and other experts' "no risk".
DR. HANSFIELD
"And oral sex is basically safe sex -- completely safe with respect to HIV and although not zero risk for other STDs, the chance of infection is far lower than for unprotected vaginal or anal sex. Please educate yourself about the real risks. If you stick with oral sex and condom-protected vaginal or anal sex, you have no HIV worries and very little worry about other STDs. " DR HANSFIELD
"I am sure you can find lots of people who belive that HIV is transmitted by oral sex, but you will not find scientific data to support this unrealistic concern..." DR HOOK
"HIV is not spread by touching, masturbation, oral sex or condom protected sex."- DR. HOOK
in the public HIV Prevention forum of MedHelp, TEAK and the other moderators maintain that oral sex in all forms is a zero risk activity. Would you agree with this assessment?
I TOTALLY AGREE / DR GARCIA
Emily
MedHelp
On MedHelp, we follow the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), test manufacturers, FDA, and our experts, Drs. HHH and Hook, and the experts in the HIV International Forum.
It is this forum's position that oral sex by itself does not require testing.
Lizzie, Teak, Vance, etc., all have some great quotes taken from our experts about the risks of oral sex and HIV, which I have included. While one study may say one thing, and another says something else, there is no disagreement among our experts about HIV and oral sex. Our forum experts are world-renowned, and have the ability to interpret situations and apply the science behind studies, etc., and they all agree on the risks (or non-risks) of oral sex for HIV.
If someone chooses to abstain from oral sex, or use a condom for oral sex (which is a good idea as other STDs can be transmitted via oral sex - see the STD community about that), or test after an oral sex encounter, that's a personal decision. However, our stance remains the same. There is no need for endless debate and insults about intelligence, education, backgrounds, etc.
Here are the quotes:
There is no debate (among experts) about the HIV risks associated with oral sex. The risk is so low that almost nobody who cares for HIV infected patients has ever had a patient believed to have been infected that way. Among experts, it's a semantic issue about using terms like "no risk" and "very low risk". There is no difference between my or Dr. Hook's use of "low risk" and other experts' "no risk".
DR. HANSFIELD
"And oral sex is basically safe sex -- completely safe with respect to HIV and although not zero risk for other STDs, the chance of infection is far lower than for unprotected vaginal or anal sex. Please educate yourself about the real risks. If you stick with oral sex and condom-protected vaginal or anal sex, you have no HIV worries and very little worry about other STDs. " DR HANSFIELD
"I am sure you can find lots of people who belive that HIV is transmitted by oral sex, but you will not find scientific data to support this unrealistic concern..." DR HOOK
"HIV is not spread by touching, masturbation, oral sex or condom protected sex."- DR. HOOK
in the public HIV Prevention forum of MedHelp, TEAK and the other moderators maintain that oral sex in all forms is a zero risk activity. Would you agree with this assessment?
I TOTALLY AGREE / DR GARCIA
Emily
MedHelp
Sorry i appreciate your emotional dimension to this but I will not be pushed over on facts and intellectual matters.
How many HIV educational conferences have you been to and participated in?
geeez..there he goes again
take it elsewhere mate
take it elsewhere mate
Sorry you selectively read and post article that tell you what you want others to believe. How about the info in the links I sent you, is there something there that contradicts my position on this, that the risk is not zero?
Here is an extract from http://www.avert.org/oral-sex.htm
The risk of HIV transmission from an infected partner through oral sex is much smaller than the risk of HIV transmission from anal or vaginal sex. Because of this, measuring the exact risk of HIV transmission as a result of oral sex is very difficult. In addition, since most sexually active individuals practice oral sex in addition to other forms of sex (such as vaginal and/or anal sex) when transmission occurs, it is difficult to determine whether or not it occurred as a result of oral sex or other more risky sexual activities. Finally, several co-factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission through oral sex, including oral ulcers and wounds, bleeding gums, genital sores, genital or oral piercings, and the presence of other STDs.
When scientists describe the risk of transmitting an infectious disease, like HIV, the term "theoretical risk" is often used. Very simply, "theoretical risk" means that passing an infection from one person to another is possible, even though there may not yet be any actual documented cases. "Theoretical risk" is not the same as likelihood. In other words, stating that HIV infection is "theoretically possible" does not necessarily mean it is likely to happen - only that it might. Documented risk, on the other hand, is used to describe transmission that has actually occurred, been investigated, and documented in the scientific literature.
Various scientific studies have been performed around the world to try and document and study instances of HIV transmission through oral sex. A programme in San Francisco studied 198 people, nearly all gay or bisexual men. The subjects stated that they had only had oral sex for a year, from six months preceding the six-month study to its end. 20 per cent of the study participants (39 people) reported performing oral sex on partners they knew to be HIV positive. 35 of those did not use a condom and 16 reported swallowing semen. No one became HIV positive during the study, although the small number of participants performing oral sex on HIV positive partners meant the researchers could only say that there was a less than 2.8 per cent chance of infection through oral sex over a year.1 In 2000, a different San Francisco study of gay men who had recently acquired HIV infection found that 7.8 per cent of these infections were attributed to oral sex.2 However, the results of the study have since been called into question due to the reliability of the participants' data.
Measuring the exact risk of HIV transmission as a result of oral sex is very difficult.
In June 2002, a study conducted amongst 135 HIV negative Spanish heterosexuals, who were in a sexual relationship with a person who was HIV positive, reported that over 19,000 instances of unprotected oral sex had not led to any cases of HIV transmission.3 The study also looked at contributing factors that could affect the potential transmission of HIV through oral sex. They monitored viral load and asked questions such as whether ejaculation in the mouth occurred and how good oral health was. Amongst HIV positive men, 34 per cent had ejaculated into the mouths of their partners. Viral load levels were available for 60 people in the study, 10 per cent of whom had levels over 10,000 copies. Nearly 16 per cent of the HIV positive people had CD4 counts below 200. The study, conducted over a ten year period between 1990 and 2000, adds to the growing number of studies which suggest varying levels of risk of HIV transmission from oral sex when compared to anal or vaginal intercourse.
At the 4th International Oral AIDS Conference held in South Africa, the risk of transmission through oral sex was estimated to be approximately 0.04 per cent per contact.4 This percentage figure is a lot lower than the two American figures, because this figure is a risk per contact percentage, whereas the other figures are percentage risks over much longer time periods. Oral sex is still regarded as a low-risk sexual activity in terms of HIV transmission, but only when more work is done will we be clearer as to the risks of oral sex.
Here is an extract from http://www.avert.org/oral-sex.htm
The risk of HIV transmission from an infected partner through oral sex is much smaller than the risk of HIV transmission from anal or vaginal sex. Because of this, measuring the exact risk of HIV transmission as a result of oral sex is very difficult. In addition, since most sexually active individuals practice oral sex in addition to other forms of sex (such as vaginal and/or anal sex) when transmission occurs, it is difficult to determine whether or not it occurred as a result of oral sex or other more risky sexual activities. Finally, several co-factors can increase the risk of HIV transmission through oral sex, including oral ulcers and wounds, bleeding gums, genital sores, genital or oral piercings, and the presence of other STDs.
When scientists describe the risk of transmitting an infectious disease, like HIV, the term "theoretical risk" is often used. Very simply, "theoretical risk" means that passing an infection from one person to another is possible, even though there may not yet be any actual documented cases. "Theoretical risk" is not the same as likelihood. In other words, stating that HIV infection is "theoretically possible" does not necessarily mean it is likely to happen - only that it might. Documented risk, on the other hand, is used to describe transmission that has actually occurred, been investigated, and documented in the scientific literature.
Various scientific studies have been performed around the world to try and document and study instances of HIV transmission through oral sex. A programme in San Francisco studied 198 people, nearly all gay or bisexual men. The subjects stated that they had only had oral sex for a year, from six months preceding the six-month study to its end. 20 per cent of the study participants (39 people) reported performing oral sex on partners they knew to be HIV positive. 35 of those did not use a condom and 16 reported swallowing semen. No one became HIV positive during the study, although the small number of participants performing oral sex on HIV positive partners meant the researchers could only say that there was a less than 2.8 per cent chance of infection through oral sex over a year.1 In 2000, a different San Francisco study of gay men who had recently acquired HIV infection found that 7.8 per cent of these infections were attributed to oral sex.2 However, the results of the study have since been called into question due to the reliability of the participants' data.
Measuring the exact risk of HIV transmission as a result of oral sex is very difficult.
In June 2002, a study conducted amongst 135 HIV negative Spanish heterosexuals, who were in a sexual relationship with a person who was HIV positive, reported that over 19,000 instances of unprotected oral sex had not led to any cases of HIV transmission.3 The study also looked at contributing factors that could affect the potential transmission of HIV through oral sex. They monitored viral load and asked questions such as whether ejaculation in the mouth occurred and how good oral health was. Amongst HIV positive men, 34 per cent had ejaculated into the mouths of their partners. Viral load levels were available for 60 people in the study, 10 per cent of whom had levels over 10,000 copies. Nearly 16 per cent of the HIV positive people had CD4 counts below 200. The study, conducted over a ten year period between 1990 and 2000, adds to the growing number of studies which suggest varying levels of risk of HIV transmission from oral sex when compared to anal or vaginal intercourse.
At the 4th International Oral AIDS Conference held in South Africa, the risk of transmission through oral sex was estimated to be approximately 0.04 per cent per contact.4 This percentage figure is a lot lower than the two American figures, because this figure is a risk per contact percentage, whereas the other figures are percentage risks over much longer time periods. Oral sex is still regarded as a low-risk sexual activity in terms of HIV transmission, but only when more work is done will we be clearer as to the risks of oral sex.
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